Rolling door construction



Dec. 4, 1945. N. MICHELMAN ROLLING DOOR CONSTRUCTION F'ild Aug. 12, 1944Patented Dec. 4, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROLLING DOOR,CONSTRUCTION Nathan Michelman, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application August 12, 1944, Serial No. 549,228

Claims.

This invention relates to rolling doors, of the type comprising aflexible curtain formed of a number of sections interconnected forrelative hinged movement and adapted to be wound upon a rotatable drumsuitably located at the head of the doorway. The invention isspecifically directed to the provision of a rolling door of theaforementioned character adapted for use in buildings, industrialstructures, garages, and the like, which comprises a flexible curtainincorporating windows suitably arranged therein to permit viewing of theinterior of the building to which the rolling door is applied andillumination of the same.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved construction for arolling door of the type aforementioned, wherein a plurality of windowsare provided at spaced intervals along the length of the flexiblecurtain, and the hingedly interconnected sections forming the flexiblecurtain are so arranged as to permit of the easy winding thereof upon asuitable non-circular rotatable drum.

Another object of the invention is to provide a flexible curtaincomprising alternate rigid window-embodying sections and interconnectingsections, the structure bein such that, when the curtain is wound upon anon-circular drum, the window-embodying sections will form series ofsuperimposed parallel units.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rolling doorconstruction comprising a polygonal winding drum and a flexible curtainincorporating window-embodying sections of uniform width interconnectedby sections of different width, whereby, in the winding of the curtainupon the drum, all the sections of the curtain will dispose themselvesin parallel relation to sides of the polygonal drum.

These and other related objects will become apparent by the followingdescription of a preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated inthe drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a rolling door according to theinvention, illustrating the structure of the flexible curtain formingpart of the door and the arrangement of the sections of the curtain uponthe drum.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the structure of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the window-embodying sections ofthe curtain.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section, on line 4-4 of Fig. 3, illustrating thestructure of a window-embodying section.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, Ill indicates a counterbalancedrotatable shaft of the kind usually provided in rolling doorconstructions, which is suitably supported at the head of the doorwayand carries, for rotation therewith, a drum 12 upon which a flexibledoor or curtain may be wound, the drum being, in the embodimentillustrated, hexagonal in cross-section.

The door or curtain consists of a number of metal sections the lengthwhereof is substantially equal to the length of the winding drum l2, andwhich are hingedly interconnected at their ends to render the curtainarticulated and adapted to be wound upon said drum. Speciflcally, thecurtain consists of a number of rigid window-embodying sections or unitsl6 and a number of connecting sections l8 alternate with the units IS inthe manner and for the purpose that will hereafter be described.

The window-embodying units l6, which are all of uniform width, as shownin Fig. 1, comprise a flat portion 2|] formed at its ends withoppositely coiled portions 2!, 22. As will be observed, said flatportion 20 is substantially equal in width to the longer sides 23 of thepolygonal drum l2, and is provided with a plurality of identicalopenings or windows 24, uniformly spaced from each other along saidportion 20. Frames 25, secured to the flat portion in any suitablemanner, are provided for mounting glass panes 26 in juxtaposition to thewindows 24. In the embodiment illustrated, there are shown fourrectangular windows 24 and associated frame and glass panes for eachsection I6; it will however be understood that the number and shape ofthe windows and associated elements may be varied, as desired.

The connecting sections I8, alternate with the sections i6, are equal inlength to these latter, and are likewise formed with oppositely coiledportions 28, 29 engaging the coiled portions of adjacentwindow-embodying units and adapted to form with these latter hingemembers permitting relative angular movement of the various sections, asrequired for the winding of the curtain upon the drum. Preferably, saidconnecting sections I8 are rigid and have a flat wall intermediate thecoiled portions thereof similarly to the window-embodying units IE, butthey may be made, if desired, of substantially flexible corrugated metalsheet. The width of the sections I6, however, is not uniform throughoutthe length of the curtain, but increases from the top to the bottom ofthe curtain, in the manner that will be described, for the purpose ofpermitting the window-embodying units 16 to dispose themselves in groupsof units parallel to sides of the polygonal drum l2, when the curtain isWound upon the drum, as will hereafter become apparent. The curtain isformed, throughout its length, of alternate units I6 and sections l8,though the Windows may be omitted in certain of the units located nearthe top and the bottom of the curtain, for obvious reasons, thestructure remaining otherwise unchanged.

The curtain is secured, at one end thereof, to the drum l2 in anysuitable manner, as by means of an initial short link 30 riveted orbolted to the drum, as shown at 3|. Assuming that the first hinged orfree section of the curtain is to be one of the units 16, the link 30 isfastened to one of the short sides 32 of the polygonal drum l2 in such aposition that the flat portion 20 of the unit is is superimposed to theadjacent long side 23 of the drum, while the coiled portions of the unitproject laterally thereof. Since the curtain is formed of alternateunits I6 and sections I8, the next short side 32 of the drum will havesuperimposed thereon the first section l8, which is made substantiallyequal in width to said short side 32 whereby the second unit i6 isallowed to overlie, with its flat portion 20, the following long side 23of the drum, in the manner hereinbefore described.

As can be seen in Fig. l, the second section (8 1 is identical to thefirst, but the next section following the third unit [6 is of greaterwidth to permit the adjacent unit IE to superimpose itself to the firstunit and to assume a position in parallel relation to this latter and tothe underlying side of the drum. As will therefore be apparent, in orderto have series of alined units I6 superimposed upon sides of the drum inparallel relation thereto, the width of the sections 18 isincreased witheach winding of the curtain upon the drum, that is in proportion to theincrease in the distance of the sections from the axis of the drum,. or,in other words, for each three alternate units I6.- and sections [8there is an increase in the width of these latter.

The structure formed in this manner permits to provide series of windowsincorporated in rigid units so that glass panes may be associated withthe windows Without danger of breakage in the operation of the door,requires a minimum of space for the Winding of the curtain and insures asmooth and easy operation of the door due to the advantageousarrangement of the sections of the curtain and associated drum.

While I have described my invention substantially with reference to apreferred embodiment thereof, it is to be understood that changes andmodifications may be made in the structure described and illustrated inthe drawing without departing from the spirit of the invention or ex-.ceedihg the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. A rolling, door comprising a rotatable polygonal drum anda flexiblecurtain adapted to be woundu'pon said drum, said curtain comprising aplurality of window-embodying units of uniform width and a plurality ofsections alternating. with said units, the width of said sectionsincreasing with the distance of the sections from the axis of the drumwhen Wound thereon, whereby, in the winding of the curtain upon thedrum, the window-embodying units are caused to dispose themselves inparallelism with sides of the drum.

2. A rolling door comprising a rotatable polygonal drum and a curtaincomprising a plurality of rigid window-embodying units of uniform Widthand a plurality of sections alternating with said Window-embodying unitsand hingedly interconnected thereto, to form a flexible curtain adaptedto be wound upon said drum, the width of said sections increasinginproportion to the increase in the distance of the sections from theaxis of the drum when wound thereon, whereby, in the winding of thecurtain upon the drum, the window-embodying sections are caused todispose themselves in parallelism with sides of the drum.

3. A rolling door comprising a rotatable polygonal drum and a curtainconsisting of a plurality of rigid units of uniform width, eachembodying a number of windows of equal dimensions, and a plurality ofsections alternating with said window-embodying units and hingedlyinterconnected thereto, to form a flexible curtain adapted to be woundupon said drum, the width of said sections increasing in proportion tothe increase in the distance of the sections from the axis of the drumwhen Wound thereon, whereby, in the winding of the curtain upon thedrum, the window-embodying sections are caused to dispose themselves inparallelism with sides of the drum.

4. A rolling door comprising a rotatable hexagonal drum, a flexiblecurtain connected at one end thereof to said drum and adapted to bewound thereon, said curtain comprising a plurality of window-embodyingunits of uniform Width and a plurality of sections alternating with saidwindow-embodying units and hingedly connected thereto, the width of saidsections increasing for each three alternate window-embodying units andsections, whereby in the winding of the curtain upon the drum, thewindow-embodying units will form groups of alined units superimposedupon sides of the hexagonal drum and parallel thereto alternating withgroups of sections superimposed upon the remaining sides of the drum.

5. A rolling door comprising arotatable hexagonal drum, and a curtainconsisting of a plurality of rigid units of uniform width, eachembodying a number of windows of equal dimensions, and a plurality ofsections alternating with said window-embodying units and hingedlyconnected thereto, to form a flexible curtain adapted to be wound uponsaid drum, the width of said sections increasing for each threealternate window-embodying units and sections, whereby, in the windingof the curtain upon the drum, the window-embodying units willprogressively superi-mpose themselves upon sides of the hexagonal drumto form groups of alined units parallel to said sides of the. drum andthe sections will progressively superimpose themselves upon theremaining sides of the drum to form groups alternating with the groupsof window-embodying units.

NATHAN MICHELMAN.

